The Cynicism of Identity

[Bad Thoughts]

Rachel Dolezal is African American.
Ann Coulter is Native American.
Nicholas Thalasinos is Jewish.

I was shocked and upset by the news of the shooting in San Bernardino, maybe twenty miles from where my mother and sister live. I had no reason to believe that they were in any danger, but that part of Southern California seems to host more "crazies" (as my mom puts it).

Some articles described one of the principle victims as Jewish. Apparently, he grew up Greek Orthodox and had recently converted to Messianic Judaism, a group which uses Jewish rituals and symbols but follows Baptist theology. My father was Jewish; my mother, Mexican-American, converted when she married; I had a mostly Jewish upbringing and practice it in my home now. Other people doing things in a "Jewish" way does not bother me: it's not like other religions don't find ways of incorporating similar ideas into worship, and I would be a fool to claim that Judaism is completely original. Nonetheless, I have often been annoyed when accosted by Jews for Jesus on college campuses or on the streets of New York.

The problem of Mr. Thalasinos' "Judaism" isn't in the dynamic between him and the man who would shoot him. It is in the way that the supposed Judaism has been woven into the story. In the stories I have read, Mr. Thalassinos has been portrayed as an ardent Zionist, a vanguard in the defense of Israel, not as an Evangelical. Many Messianic Jews haven been taking to the comments on Israeli newspapers, where he is not recognized as Jewish, to defend the conversion and beliefs of the religion. At least one source (I believe it is a conservative site, so I won't link to it) used Mr. Thalasinos to portray the incident as outright antisemitism. I can already anticipate that some politicians will attempt to blur the lines of Mr. Thalasinos' identity in pursuit of policy goals--goals that are particularly anti-Muslim.

I hate being a battleground. I hate that politicians expect me to respond to the dog whistles because they think I hold particular political interests due to my religious and cultural beliefs.

More importantly, I hate that they treat identity like putting on a mask. Anyone can say they are something new at any time: new ethnicity, new nationality, new religiosity. It perpetuates the notion that there is nothing genuine about identity, no way in which the individual is shaped by her/his experiences and that of the community and the family into which s/he grew. It undermines complaints about discrimination, harassment, and racism by making the identity of the victim seem optional.

I will mourn Mr. Thalasinos. I will criticize the story.

[snagglepuss]

1. Your position on identity is ludricious given your family's history.

Your own mother cast aside her Roman Catholic "identity" and assumed another "identity". Had your mother not converted, you would not be considered Jewish even if your father is Jewish given that one's mother needs to be Jewish for their children to be Jewish. Intermarriages show that the notion of identities you speak of is a complete farce. Your mother's "identity" as a Roman Catholic was simply tossed out the window. If "identity" is such a solid thing as you claim , what happen to her RC identity?

[Bad Thoughts]

2. She learned, she was tested, she integrated into the community

She did not wake up one day to say, "I am Jewish." She was rigorously tested. She integrated into the Jewish community in Los Angeles.

I never claim that identity is solid. I claim it is based on experiene.

And she was not raised Roman Catholic.